Clun Castle - Architecture

Architecture

Clun Castle is located on a bend in the river Clun, overlooking the local village of Clun and the church. The river provides natural defences from the north and west, whilst the main keep of the castle stands upon a large motte or mound. Most historians conclude that this is primarily a natural elevation of rock, which has then been cut and scarped into its current, although others argue that it is mostly artificial. Three similar, but less dramatic mounds around the main motte provide the basic structure for the castle defences.

The remains of the 80 ft (24 m) tall, four-storey rectangular great keep are still standing on the north side of the motte. In large part this a typical late Norman keep, 68 by 42 ft (21 by 13 m) wide, similar to those locally at Alberbury, Bridgnorth and Hopton, featuring pilaster buttresses and round-headed Norman windows. Unusually the keep is off-centre, probably to allow the foundations greater reach and avoid placing excessive pressure on the motte - a similar design can be found at Guildford Castle. The ground floor was used for storage, with the upper three storeys for the family's residential use. Each floor had its own large fireplace and five windows. The great keep appears powerful, but was built as a compromise between security and comfort - the building has relatively few arrowslits - many of the externally visible arrowslits are fakes and the building as a whole could easily have been undermined.

On the highest point of the main motte are the remains of one wall of what appears to have been an earlier small square keep, probably dating from the 11th or 12th centuries. The remains of a bridge, linking the main motte with the south-west mound, can just be seen to the south of this; this bridge would have formed the main route to the local village. South of the bridge is the site of the gatehouse, while the foundations of a great round tower can be seen to the south-west. Along the west front are the remains of two solid turrets, built in possible imitation of Château Gaillard. A number of domestic buildings once stood inside the main bailey, including a grange, a stable and a bakehouse. The earthworks of two further bailey walls can be seen on the east side of the castle.

The surrounding grounds around Clun Castle have been extensively developed in the past and a pleasure garden can still be made out in the field beyond the River Clun to the west. To the north-east lies the remains of a fish pond, with a sluice connecting this to the river.